If you've started biking more to cut down on gas consumption you might have noticed what a pain it is to transport things on a bicycle. Convert a bicycle to a cargo bike and you'll be hauling groceries in style.

Instructables user CarKat didn't originally build his cargo bike because he wanted an efficient way to move groceries around but because it offered a different way to haul kids around than a rear-trailer. While traveling in Copenhagen he noticed many families in the bike-friendly city transporting children in cargo bikes where the cargo was carried in the front of the bicycle instead of on a rear trailer or attached cargo area. He liked this design much better than feeling like his kids were in a little pod behind him where he couldn't see them and was concerned motorists couldn't either. Kids or no kids, however, it's a great design for moving a large amount of cargo with just a bicycle.

His build involves hacking apart an old bike, lots of steel tubing and wood sheets, and welding to hold it all together. We'd highly recommend checking out the comments section on the build, you'll find quite a few lengthy and helpful comments and discussion threads about the design and potential tweaks that would make it even better.

Have experience with a store-bought or DIY cargo bike? Let's hear about it in the comments.